Pedestrian skywalk to come up on highway at Acharapakkam
CHENNAI: A pedestrian skywalk is being planned near the Murugan temple in Acharapakkam along the Tambaram-Tindivanam highway to rein in numerous accidents on the National Highway 45, the fifth dangerous highway stretch in the country.
The 100-km stretch connects Chennai with Trichy, Madurai , Salem and Coimbatore.
The project cost is estimated at 96 lakh.
On an average, more than 80,000 vehicles use this four-lane road on a daily basis. High density of vehicular movement, overspeeding and absence of pedestrian skywalks have resulted in frequent accidents, offcials said.
Officials said that more than 100 accidents are reported on this stretch every year, including deaths of pedestrians. In order to prevent this, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has surveyed the whole stretch and identified seven accident-prone zones, known as 'black spots'.
On an average, more than 80,000 vehicles use this four-lane road on a daily basis. High density of vehicular movement, overspeeding and absence of pedestrian skywalks have resulted in frequent accidents, offcials said.
Officials said that more than 100 accidents are reported on this stretch every year, including deaths of pedestrians. In order to prevent this, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has surveyed the whole stretch and identified seven accident-prone zones, known as 'black spots'.
This includes those near SRM College at Kattangulathur, Singaperumal Koil junction, Mahindra Tech City signal, Paranur railway bridge, Acharapakkam and Chengelpet bypass junction. Of this, the one near Acharapakkam temple recorded the highest number of pedestrian fatalities.
In 2018, a dozen people had died near these black spots. "None of the cars, lorries or trucks stop at traffic signals on the highway stretch during early mornings," said S Vidyartha, an employee at Mahindra Tech City.
Keeping in mind the risk to pedestrian safety, NHAI has proposed a pedestrian skywalk near the Acharapakkam temple. In other junctions, pedestrian guard rails will be fixed to create a safe pathway for them.
At Kattangulathur and Maraimalai Nagar junction, a pedestrian signal worth 10 lakh will be installed for the safety of school and college students, who often can be seen crossing busy roads. These signals will be controlled by traffic policemen, said an official from NHAI.
Besides this, 9 crore has been sanctioned towards rectification works for the 'black spots' on this stretch, officials said. Tenders were floated on October 17 and bids hav e been invited in the next 120 days
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